QRM Center Europe

The QRM Center Europe is an initiative of Vincent Wiegel and Jannes Slomp from HAN University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with Rajan Suri and Ananth Krishnamurthy from the QRM Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Jan Riezebos from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Since the start in November 2010, the focus was on establishing relations between companies and knowledge institutions. Sirris (http://www.sirris.be), the Belgium Technology Institute that connects theory and practice, was from the start actively involved. Research connections between Leuven University, University of Groningen, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fields of queuing theory, lead times, and cellular manufacturing, and a research grant from the Dutch Government (Raak) helped the HAN to build up the center, establish long-term relationships between companies on their QRM journey, and bring the QRM message across Europe. Regular visits of Rajan Suri to The Netherlands and Belgium supported this process. His visits were used for master classes to train participants in QRM tools, such as MCT analysis, for company visits and in house training, as well as for seminars and conferences. Moreover, the European QRM center hosted several World Conferences on QRM.

The European QRM Center brings together European partners that support the development of knowledge on QRM values, principles and tools, help to apply QRM in practice, and educate both students and professionals on the basics of QRM.

Mission

Our mission is to develop and share QRM knowledge and experience with European researchers, educational institutions, consulting businesses and companies who want to help to reduce lead times and improve productivity. QRM is about saving time to save costs. With QRM, time is money!

Network

The European QRM center is an informal network of researchers, lecturers, trainers, students, and professionals. We meet at academic and professional conferences, share research and training materials, organize sessions and meetings, share knowledge through this website and social media, and contribute to research and education by joined research projects. The center has no commercial interest in advancing the use of QRM, but supports the ideas as time-based competition and the associated trade-offs are essential for the future of industry in Europe.

Become involved

If you would like to become involved in this network, please send an email to the director of the center, Jan Riezebos: info@qrmcenter.eu. There are no costs involved.

You may also register as a member on this website, which provides you access to the password protected member area with further documents, blogs, information on other members and on new projects.

National QRM Centers in Europe

European initiatives to apply or study Quick Response Manufacturing have appeared in several countries over Europe. In some of these countries, strong networks have been formed, in other countries the initiative is restricted to one or two of the principal partners of a QRM network, i.e. practice (both companies and consultancy), research (both fundamental and applied), and students.

First the European QRM center is directed by Prof. Jan Riezebos, University of Groningen, in close cooperation with the former director, Prof. Vincent Wiegel, Han University of Applied Science, and is accessible at www.qrmcenter.eu and by email at info@qrmcenter.eu.

The European QRM practitioners network (www.qrmnetwork.eu) brings together consultants, business associates, and software developers in the field of QRM.

Similar to the development in the Netherlands, national QRM expertise centers have been established in other countries in Europe, sometimes by a consultant, sometimes by a network of companies and research institutes. For example: